Kurzweil K2500X

I bought this baby second hand for *price converted from German Marks* about $1500. My main motivation in buying it was that I needed a synth with 88 keys and the good reviews I had read about it before. I also heard the 2500 rack in a band I play with.

Give me an S - S
Give me an O - O
Give me an U - U
Give me an N - N
Give me an D - D

What`s that spell? SOUND!!!!!

The K 2500 is the most amazing synth I`ve ever played, the flexibility and the pure power of the synth can make about 99% of all other synths obsolete. With my K being nearly maxed out memory wise and having all three expansion boards installed there are literally no limits to the sounds you can create. It loads samples in Akai format too, so that you won`t run out of sounds no matter what.

also, the action of the keyboard is very good, a little heavier than most weighted synths, definitely feels very piano-like


Err, did I say it feels piano-like? It also WEIGHS according to that. The K2500 X is so damn heavy that you can`t possibly carry it around on your own...at least you`re not gonna want to.

Although once you get used to how menus and soft-buttons work it`s a breeze to use I think in future updates the display could be a bit bigger.

Other than that I couldn`t ask for much more in a synth than my K offers me

The Kurzweil is built like a tank. This ain`t no kiddy toy, its rugged housing takes the stress of "being on theroad" like there ain`t any. The quality as I mentioned above is absolutely superior, be it the sounds or the action of the keys, I have not played a better synth to date and it`s not like I didn`t try

The Kurzweil is not a synth to begin with, its multitude of possibilities and controls will surely overwhelm and maybe even scare the synthesizer-neophyte. But once one has overcome the c*sio-level (no offense ever!!!) and want to play with the big boys, the Kurzweil is the way to go.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

This is a 88-key piano. Not being a pianist confirmed, I will not judge the quality of touch, but in the words of experts, he remained pleasant and correct (I say this based on recent progress in this area)
One highlight of this keyboard is that it can easily serve as master control. Thanks to its 8 faders (8 with associated switches), its two ribbons (with a little pressure, and a large ... very large!)
Rich connections (8 separate outputs, two SCSI ports, MIDI, pedals, etc.), it will have no difficulty integrating into your studio.
I find the hyper parameter editing easy, whether for sound, or other effects. Maybe because it's really a computer by Tree (I practice a long time) and also because the parameters are in units of "real" (not a value between 0 and 127)
The box is big enough to easily calibrate a hard disk, by yourself (as the HD kit Kurzweil expensive for what to do ...)
There is a good Yahoos'group dealing with these synths
Well, we go to areas for improvement?
Polyphony starts a little dated, but ultimately, I do not crash the synth playing (and that's what counts!)
The number of original sound is not great (in 200) as he will quickly acquire the option ROMs to have on hand a more robust panel.
The effects of origin, though good, is very limited by the processor, so I highly recommend the option KDFX
As you can see, the bill is growing ...

UTILIZATION

Recall on: This is a true synthetic gas plant ... But in the good way. Enormous potential, configurable as desired. It can route everything about everything, assign everything about everything. Each according to his dexterity, designate the physical control that modulates the sound effect, etc.. I say this because I have too much sensitivity in the fingers, then the velocity curves ... No problem, I assign the pitch, tape or other.
A gas plant, but no need to keep the manual on your knees! The controls are very intuitive, almost innate.
The manual is well translated, neat, well presented, with some nice tutorials.

SOUNDS

Kurzweil sounds? Ben is like sauerkraut ... Alsatian. It's almost a tautology. Except that it must have the option ROMs (and then KDFX) to draw the quintessence of this instrument. Well, for Grat saturated, it's not TOP (see Trinity, Triton or Motif) ... But the rest, from symphonic sounds to the World via the analog is OK.
Note, you can repatriate the samples in this synth sounds to create your own! SUPER! Kurzweil CDs are super clean, well-made assignments: You load and you play! For other formats (waves, akai) is more laborious, because you have to do the assignments, but after a hand, it goes relatively quickly.
But as said, each with its grain synth ... and this one I like really!

OVERALL OPINION

Keyboard of superlatives, the terrain par excellence. Ideal for driving your expanders, large enough to be up and running with your keyboard splits, it will respond quickly to your needs without constantly return to the manual. Editing is very detailed with values ​​in units recognized. The sound power is the appointment, even if this requires complete the beast by the options at the time. This is the birth of the K2600!
We could now criticized a little softness in the attacks, an arpeggiator basic (although you can overcome by assigning a sequential to a note) and the lack of a USB port.
It is clear, to date, I will take a K2600 if my favorite retailer does not remember the bill!

88-Key Keyboard not very heavy compared to a real piano.
The modulation wheels are easy to handle, they are both vertical (yamaha). The strip above the keys and simply enjoyable!
The sustain pedal that comes with is really good, and sounds are as true sustain (for piano).
It's a keyboard to plug in stereo. It has entries SCSI, floppy disks in HD format.
The bank of presets (factory sounds) is already provided (198sons). Acoustic instruments such as violin, brass immitis are damned good!
The Kurzweil K2500X suitable for all styles of music. All sounds are editable and can also create any right once you have the RAM on the machine.

UTILIZATION

For immediate use, the keyboard is very easy to access. We just need to read the first pages of the manual (on almost 300 .....) to understand the buttons and go! It is fast in

As for editing sounds, it's something else ... Being a fade programming I did not have Taté ... But it is quite complex in view of the possibilities.

The manual is clear enough and well enough!

SOUNDS

For what I play ... (Rock) .. It is perfect.
The many possibilities for split keyboard (in 8 parts!) Can consist of pieces of classical
As mentioned above, the sounds are extremely realistic for a 1997 keyboard!
Personally, trumpets and violin are wonderful for jazz, for example (there is the sound of Miles Davis in the presets: P)
Some lead was still editing to review their sounds a little better ... but overall the programs are well done .. Besides, the "acoustic piano" in the preset is really ugly ...

OVERALL OPINION

I just buy the OCCAZ with piano and ROM is that the World and happy. I love everything about this stuff!
Before that I worked in all Triton (Korg) I found (extreme, the studio of Roland Fantom .....), to ... These are very good machines with very good sound (newer machines)
But the rest of the keyboard K2500X which I found most charming and merit. Because in 1997, with the keyboards sound like, should not have much yen.

Then spend € 5000 for a K2600 ... I do not know if I do it again because this choice Kurzweil does not change much ...

Now it remains to buy some Rack (Triton, Akai, Roland or Yamaha) to flesh it all